Who is Abhimanyu Easwaran, the batter who replaced Rohit Sharma?
Indian captain Rohit Sharma is set to miss the upcoming first Test against Bangladesh, starting December 14, after injuring his thumb. Bengal batter Abhimanyu Easwaran has replaced the Mumbaikar in the squad. The 27-year-old led India A against Bangladesh A, slamming 141 and 157 in the first and second unofficial Tests, respectively. Here are the stats of Abhimanyu, who has played 78 First-Class matches.
A look at this domestic career
Abhimanyu is a top-order right-handed batter who leads Bengal in domestic cricket. He made his First-class debut in 2013 against UP in Ranji Trophy. He also burst onto List A (2015) and T20 cricket (2017) eventually. To date, Abhimanyu has racked up 5,576 FC runs at 45.33, including 18 hundreds. He also owns 3,376 List A and 728 T20 runs.
Abhimanyu was a standby player for the 2021 WTC final
Abhimanyu was among the four Indian stand-by players who toured the UK for the ICC World Test Championship final and England Test series in 2021. The budding batter joined Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, and Arzan Nagwaswalla on the tour.
Abhimanyu had the support of his father
Abhimanyu started his cricketing journey at 10. His father, Ranganathan Parameshwaran Easwaran, who could not excel in the sport due to financial constraints, brought Abhimanyu to Kolkata. Abhimanyu lived with his coach Nirmal Sengupta in a place close to Bengal. In an interview with Cricketnext, the former stated that his father has been his "biggest motivator and critic".
A breakthrough season for Abhimanyu
Abhimanyu's diligence paid off as he was drafted into the Bengal side in 2013. However, he hit the purple patch in the 2018/19 Ranji Trophy season, wherein he tallied a staggering 861 runs at an average of 95.66. He finished as the leading run-scorer for Bengal in the tournament. The stylish batsman was deemed a contender for India's Test team back then too.
What about his current form?
Abhimanyu recently led India A during their two-match red-ball tour against Bangladesh A. He registered scores of 141 and 157 in two unofficial Tests in front of a potent bowling attack that included Test players. Abhimanyu was adjudged the Player of the Match in the second match in Sylhet as India won by an innings and 123 runs.
Abhimanyu has been playing in the Dhaka Premier League
Abhimanyu has had a taste of Bangladesh's wickets in the past. He has participated regularly in the Dhaka Premier League, Bangladesh's 50-over club competition. The right-handed batter represented Prime Bank in the tournament this year.
Will Abhimanyu make his Test debut?
Batters KL Rahul and Shubman Gill are likely to open in the first Test against Bangladesh in the absence of Rohit. Moreover, India's batting is studded with stars Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, and uncapped wicket-keeper Srikar Bharat. Therefore, Abhimanyu, an in-form batter, will make his debut only if there is any further injury.
